I was sucked into This Is Where We Die from the first chapter. I read it faster than I’ve read a book in probably years - I couldn’t put it down. I did guess the twist around 75% in but she made me doubt myself again and I did turn out to be right but there’s something so satisfying about piecing together the clues correctly so I love that. The multiple POVs did get slightly confusing for me at times but that’s 100% a me-problem and I just love Cindy’s writing style so it really didn’t bother me at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC.

This was an enjoyable, albeit predictable, YA thriller with a unique premise. I enjoyed my time with it but it was not a stand out for me.

Eight friends went on a ski trip, but only six have returned. They are the survivors. Only the survivors know what happened. When a private island. With all the bells and whistles becomes available, they decide that this would be great way to celebrate their graduation. What they don't realize is that none of them will be returning.

If you enjoy isolated atmospheric locked door thrillers and deserted Island troubles this book is for you!

Six friends are waiting for a helicopter island pick up that never arrives! As people start getting picked off one by one by an unknown killed they start to realize how dire their situation is. Given that this group of people are the remaining survivor from an incident a couple years back, it’s safe to say everyone already has trust issues which sends them into a heightened spiral of paranoia.

I enjoyed how the book was split into dual timelines and multiple POV giving the reader various perspectives on past and present events as well as the mind frame of multiple characters leading to a well rounded understanding by the time you get to the big reveal at the end.

A fast paced read I’d recommend for adults too, don’t be put off by the YA target audience :)

This would also work really well as an audio book!

Thank you to the author and Sourcebooks Fire for the gifted copy!

Publishes - July 1st

I came across this book by accident and then was unable to put it down.  It is completely out of my genre of books I read, but my goodness was it good!  A group of 6 teens who just graduated high school, decide to celebrate at one of the hottest locations around.  The group of friends are bonded together in a way they wish they weren't.  After a nightmare of a trip 2 years ago when 8 friends were on a trip but only 6 returned, it has been them.  Always the 6 who find their way back to each other. But now is a time for celebration and they head to the location for the party before the rest of their graduating class.  All starts out well, but slowly one by one each teen is being targeted.  Every time I thought I knew who did it, I was proven wrong. And was completely shocked when I found out who did.  I did not see the ending coming the way that it did.
I am glad I went with my first instinct and decided to read the book.  Cindy He is a wonderful story teller.  She keeps the momentum going and gets the reader to really think and analyze what is going on.  I would definitely recommend this book.

thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC!

yeah I decided to give this a shot despite the fact that it's a YA thriller, when like... 90% of them are just Not My Thing at all. the writing just didn't fit what this book was trying to do. also as other people have said, I'm all for content warnings, but this one gives away like a lot of the plot/twists

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

I loved it! I was hooked from the beginning and it kept the suspense and curiosity going throughout the book.
6 friends are graduating and want to do it with a bang. Renting an island with a big house with a chef and housemaids etc. They believe. First time the group get together alone after a horrible skitrip earlier were they were 8, but only 6 survived.
They are leaving together on a helicopter, were other classmates will arrive the next day by boats. The 6 friends will get the house for themselves long before others arrive.
What can go wrong?
Just that when they arrive, there are no personel there to welcome them. No wifi. No cellphone connection. They`re alone.... again.

I absolutely recommend this book to all who loves psychological thrillers.

This book was so eye catching with the way it was written. I loved it from start to finish and it kept me guessing the whole way through as to what was going to be the ending.

For fans of: That’s Not My Name, The Woods Are Always Watching
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕
Genre: YA Thriller
Violence: 🔪🔪🔪🔪
Spice: 🔥
TR: Loads-read the TW listed at the beginning!

Premise: 8 friends take a trip. 6 make it out alive. Now a killer has 1 night to make the survivors pay for what they did & ensure no one returns this time.

Thoughts: I enjoyed R.X. He’s 2024 debut, Perfect Little Monsters, and found this sophomore offering equally engaging. The premise hooked me, and the almost frenetic pace kept me turning the pages. In a “one by one” story like this, the reader grapples with whether the culprit is one of the group or an outside party. He ups the anti by allowing us to see into the heads of all the main characters, meaning we could be listening to the words of a killer and forcing us to hunt for clues to who else could be to blame. I loved that the book pairs a rapid cadence with deeper ethical quandaries: What values will a person compromise to survive? And how does surviving one trauma recalibrate a person’s moral compass? I didn’t find all the characters sympathetic, but I think that adds complexity to the ethical questions underpinning the novel. And He surprised me with the ending, which I always love, revealing a final twist different from the one I expected. One that will make you want to reread this great YA thriller from the beginning.

Thank you to Source Books Fire & Netgalley for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

This Is Where We Die by Cindy R. X. He is a first person multi-POV YA thriller. Eighteen months ago, eight friends (Sadie, Charlie, Isla, Emily, Ant, Will, Tom, and Vera) went on a trip to British Columbia but Tom and Vera didn’t come back. Now, the others have graduated and are about to have one last hurrah before moving on with the rest of their lives. But when they start betting picked off one-by-one, it becomes clear that the past isn’t going to stay buried.

This is the first book I’ve read where there are six first person-POV characters in a while. It’s not terribly common because it’s not only hard to balance all those POVs but also to make each one distinct. I think that Cindy R. X. He solved these two pitfalls in two different ways. The amount of POV characters is reduced as the characters are murdered which gives room for the ones that are still alive to breathe. The chapters focused strongly on the characters’ wants in the moment and the lingering effects of their time in British Columbia, which helped to sell how these characters were different from each other and added a bit of voice.

Of all the characters, I think Isla was my favorite to read. She’s kind of terrible, she’s incredibly messy, she’s shallow but is unafraid to go for what she wants and does so with single-minded determination. It’s a very hard balancing act to depict a female character who is that messy and is also compelling and I think that was achieved. Isla will stand on the shoulders of others and she feels no shame in that at all, but when we get a flashback to her homelife, it does start to make sense and you do understand more why she’s not willing to be anything other than who she is.

After a character dies, there is a small section depicting a conversation between the detectives examining the mansion and looking at the bodies. This helps to provide some detail into what is going to happen once the book is over but also deepens the mystery of who is the one committing the murders. I was definitely trying to figure it out for a decent chunk of the book but the breadcrumbs were laid well enough that I could guess before the reveal.

Content warning for mentions of cannibalism and miscarriage and depictions of gore, deathly allergic reactions, and alcoholism

I would recommend this to fans of Yellowjackets and readers of YA thrillers who like a lot of first person-POV characters to follow

I really enjoyed this book. Told from multiple POV, flashbacks and present. I literally flew this book, such a page turner. Excitied to read more of this authors work. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for ARC.

I loved this book !
The concept was good, and also the actual “tragedy” made it even better. The flashbacks and social media comments were also a great touch. The ending was a surprise and I really enjoyed reading this.

Bingeable locked room Thriller that held my attention from start to finish!

👥 Multiple POVs
🔃 Dual Timelines (Flashbacks)
🏝️Isolated Atmospheric Setting
🔒Locked Room Mystery

I love when Thrillers are told through multiple povs and dual timelines so the flow/format for this story worked really well for me. It was easy to follow and I thought the author did a great job adding tension, suspense and twists throughout the story.

I'd definitely recommend adding this one to your TBR and will definitely be looking for future releases from this author in the future.

Thank you Cindy R.X. He , Net Galley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Cindy R.X. He has to be my favorite YA Thriller author, and this book DID NOT DISSAPOINT!

This book took me by surprise and the twists and turns were keeping me at the edge of my seat. The story is told in multiple POV's so as soon as you feel like you have a good idea on something, you're thrown in a different direction and momentarily begin to question everything you previously read.

Empty your bladder, grab a drink and get ready because this is a book you will want to finish in one sitting

Before we get into this review, you need to know that I LOVE Agatha Christie's masterpiece And Then There Were None. The quintessential novel about strangers that arrive on an island and start disappearing (see also the movie Clue), and the 'people getting picked off on by one in a very isolated location' is a favorite thriller/horror trope of mine.

This Is Where We Die is about a group of high school friends rent a mansion on an island, and then start dying. You get multiple POVs to find out some of the secrets the group of friends are keeping, and to try to figure out who is killing everyone. I DEVOURED this book. I read the EARC and read it in two sittings (most of my reads are audio and the eBooks or physical books I read, I read very slowly).

I will say this won't be for everyone, its fairly gory, and there are hints of the past secrets that aren't very happy. There are content warnings at the beginning, that you may want to check, although the more serious content is 'off screen'. I have to go check out Cindy R.X He's back catalog.

I was completely immersed in this book from the first page! Humans are ultimately animals and fear and desperation prove we are only one step away from becoming the feral monsters we are inside.

This kept me guessing right until the end. The ending was wild and unhinged. 4.5 stars.

This was probably the most terrifying book I've read all year, and I loved it! This Is Where We Die was so well written, my attention was captured from the first page, and I just flew through it, I couldn't put it down. The (multiple) plot twists were phenomenal, my jaw was on the floor! Right after I finished this, I was just sitting in shock, because omg what did I just read. I cannot recommend this book enough, it is a must read!

Something pulled me into this book. It was a combination between the cover, description and the trigger warning page.

However it fell flat for me. I as more interested in knowing about thier past experience compared to there current situation. I loved the sodden view points of each character and the quick chapters were great.

I couldn’t stop reading it but something was just missing for me.

I appreciate the premise of this story, but I don't feel like it came together well. The character development was lacking, and didn't feel as though any of them were relatable. The ending was basically spoiled at the beginning of the story, so by the time the final twist occurs, the reader knows exactly what is going to happen.

This book gave off strong And Then There Were None vibes, which immediately hooked me. The isolated setting and creeping tension were perfect for a YA thriller. While the beginning was a bit slow, the pace picked up quickly and kept me turning pages.

I do wish we had spent more time on the ski trip itself — it felt like a missed opportunity to dive deeper into how that experience shifted the group’s dynamics. The story is told through multiple POVs, which added layers, but at times the voices blended together, making it hard to tell the characters apart.

The ending felt a bit too abrupt for my taste — I wanted a little more resolution. Still, it’s a solid pick for YA thriller fans who enjoy a tense, character-driven mystery.